Are we getting somewhere with the junior doctor contract? Well, who knows? In a fascinating game of cat and mouse, mostly played out in the public eye via selective leaks to selected people, Chinese whispers and Facebook forums, a macabre tale of politics continues to rumble on, leaving many junior doctors wondering what exactly waits for them around the corner.

I have said all along that the junior doctor contract has nothing to do with seven-day service and patient safety, as confirmed by Julie Moore and now Jeremy Hunt himself. Even the disputed studies haven't said it had anything to do with junior doctors. For sure, the usual suspects jumped in to say it was but we conflated two issues. One, a genuine look at seven-day services and a contractual issue which simply meant to have more junior doctors on weekends, you either had to change the pay envelope or spread them out thinner on weekdays. Anyone who opined it was about working differently, well there's a difference between actually doing the job, running departments and then being a keyboard warrior.

Muddled in all this has been a fundamental debate. The whole issue is seven-day services. Now that we have the issue cleared that this is NOT about elective services (now there was a joke and a half) there is a need to have a serious discussion re seven days. Let's park all the evidence for a minute and look at our own experiences. Is a Sunday as adequately staffed as a Tuesday? No, it isn't. Do we need it to be? Well, that's the debate when we have the financial issues we have at present. We are, officially, in the world of Monty Python where transformation funds also have a sustainability aspect, which you can only access on certain conditions, but need to be used to shore up failing trust bottom lines. We have a frothing debate about nurse staffing ratios when we don't have the finances or staff to get those ratios a tick box. To read more,
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People with diabetes are not receiving vital health checks which are needed to reduce the risk of complications, according to an audit of the NHS.

The National Diabetes Audit (NDA) 2014-2015 has concluded that fewer than two in five (38.7 per cent) people with type 1 underwent all of the eight tests and fewer than three in five (58.7 per cent) of those with type 2 did so. To read more, click here.

Hospital treatment for diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is “suboptimal”, according to audit findings which have just been published.

The National Audit of DKA Management, which has been published in the Diabetic Medicine journal, showed that 7.8 per cent of all reported DKA cases occurred in existing inpatients and only 6.1 per cent of admissions with DKA were due to newly diagnosed people with diabetes. To read more, click here.

Researchers in America are claiming a breakthrough in the pursuit of a cure for type 1 diabetes after halting the condition for six months.

They managed to transplant cells into mice, which immediately began producing insulin, and were also able to prevent the cells being rendered useless by the body’s own immune system, which was effectively “switched off” thanks to scientific work. To read more, click here.

Social media, texts and Skype should be used to keep young people engaged in treatment for their diabetes, NHS England has stated in new guidance.

The new service specification focuses on improving the service for young people who are transferring from child to adult services or from one service to another geographically. To read more, click here.

There are “unacceptable variations” in diabetes treatment across the UK, according to a group of MPs.

In a report compiled by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the group also criticised the Department of Health and the NHS in England for being “too slow” to act in preventing the condition. To read more, click here.

A tax on sugary drinks and snacks in hospitals is to be introduced in a bid to encourage people to eat more healthily, the NHS has announced.

Hospitals across England will start charging more for high-sugar drinks and snacks sold in their cafes and vending machines in an effort to discourage staff, patients and visitors from buying them. To read more, click here.

The deadline for diabetes hospital teams to enter a prestigious annual award is fast approaching.

The closing date for the 2015 Rowan Hillson Insulin Safety Award, which is organised by the Joint British Diabetes Societies for Inpatient Care (JBDS – IP), closes on February 1. To read more, click here.

Short bursts of intensive interval training provides a more realistic way of preventing, delaying and managing type 2 diabetes, according to a new study.

The findings also discovered that small amounts of vigorous activity in quick successions are more “effective” compared to longer forms of exercise in terms of optimising the body’s ability to use and store blood sugar, as well as losing weight. To read more, click here.

A nasal spray with a powdered form of glucagon can rescue a hypo as quickly as injecting the drug, according to new research.

Glucagon is a hormone which helps the body to increase blood glucose levels, which is why some people with type 1 diabetes often refer to it as the “rescue” drug for severe hypos. To read more, click here.